Local News in Brief : Seal Beach : Police Enter House, Arrest Burglary Suspect

A burglary suspect was arrested Thursday after barricading himself inside a home and holding police at bay for 7 hours, authorities said.

Timothy Joseph Severson, 24, of Los Alamitos was taken into custody about 5 p.m. after authorities found him in the attic, hiding in a 12-inch-by-12-inch space between the interior and exterior walls, police said.

Police said they suspect Severson is the same man who brandished a weapon at janitors inside a Security Pacific Bank branch in the 12100 block of Seal Beach Boulevard late Wednesday night. The suspect fled in a Honda Civic automobile when the janitors refused to open the door, police said.

That car was found parked in front of the house in the 200 block of 1st Street where Thursday’s incident took place, police said.

Police were notified shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday that a burglary was in progress at the house, they said. Officers did not immediately enter the house, and about 1 p.m. heard what might have been a gunshot inside the residence. No weapon was found on Severson, police said.

The Seal Beach SWAT Team and a canine unit were called in as police sealed off nearby streets. After firing several rounds of tear gas, police entered the house about 5 p.m. and arrested Severson.

Severson was being held in the Orange County Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of residential burglary, police said.